


Coming Home

by whitedandelions



Category: Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi | Spirited Away
Genre: F/M, Magic, Post-Canon, Worldbuilding, Yuletide Treat
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-25
Updated: 2017-12-25
Packaged: 2019-02-12 02:26:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,803
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12949299
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whitedandelions/pseuds/whitedandelions
Summary: Chihiro’s only eighteen when Yubaaba leaves the bathhouse to her. She hasn’t been in the spirit world since she’s left it, but that doesn’t stop Yubaaba’s magic from pulling her out of her world and into theirs.She can’t complain though, not when she can finally see Haku again.





	Coming Home

**Author's Note:**

  * For [nightmoonz](https://archiveofourown.org/users/nightmoonz/gifts).



> Happy yuletide !

 

Chihiro’s in the bathtub when it happens.

She’s dozing off, the warmth of the water lulling her to sleep, and then the water starts spinning. She yelps, and tries to get out while simultaneously wondering frantically on the cause of it all, and is promptly dragged under.

When she surfaces, she’s spluttering and coughing out water. In the next second, she’s bodily lifted out, and a warm, fluffy towel is wrapped around her.

It’s cold, wherever she is, and her teeth’s chattering when she finally blinks the water away from her eyes. Rin’s standing in front of her, and she’s the one that had wrapped Chihiro in the towel.

“Hey Sen,” says Rin, her eyes warm, “Or do you go by Chihiro now?”

“Chihiro,” she answers, immediately. She had liked being Sen, but it had never been truly her. “Rin, where am I?”

Rin takes a step back. There’s twinkling lights behind her, and Chihiro gasps as she realizes where they’re standing. It’s nighttime, and the wind is cold, but it’s definitely the bathhouse that she had spent her youth at. She steps forward, her arms around herself to hold the towel up as she looks around, nostalgia rising in her.

It had been seven years. She had been afraid that she had dreamed it all, that Haku and the bathhouse and everyone wasn’t real.

A tear runs down her cheek. She scrubs it away furiously before Rin can say anything, and takes a deep breath.

“Where’s Haku?”

Rin actually laughs at her. She bends over and laughs until there’s tears in her eyes. “I was wondering when you’ll ask that question. Seven years later, and you’ve still got it bad, girl.”

She flushes, but refuses to back down. If she’s back in the spirit world, then she wants to see Haku. “Where is he?” she asks again, and Rin smiles at her.

“He’ll be back soon,” she promises. “For now, you need to go inside and get dressed.”

Kamaji’s there when they walk inside. She nearly bursts into tears, and barely holds it back, instead running forward and wrapping her arms around Kamaji as best she can. He laughs and pats her back fondly, welcoming her back.

Strangely, most of the bathhouse is quiet. The bustling is gone, and she catches glimpses of the bathhouse workers, but they shy away, staying just behind the corners so she can’t call out to them.

She frowns, unsure of what to make of it, but Rin pushes her along.

They don’t go to where they had used to sleep. Rin leads her to the elevators, and it only takes her a minute to realize where they’re going.

Yubaaba.

She finds that she holds no fear for the older witch. Zeniiba had helped with that with the gifted hairband, and it’s enough that she doesn’t even question why they’re heading to Yubaaba.

Rin keeps sneaking her glances as if she’s worried she’ll find out. She smiles at Rin, and Rin smiles uncertainly back.

The elevator opens and it’s like she’s eleven all over again. There’s the series of doors that Yubaaba had thrown her through.

“Where is she?” she asks eventually, and Rin shakes her head. She doesn’t answer, instead going to the first door and pushing it open.

When they get to the end, there’s no one there. Yubaaba’s desk is empty.

Then suddenly, there’s a flash of light, and Yubaaba’s standing in front of them.

Except, it’s not her. It’s translucent, and when Chihiro walks forward and reaches out, her hand passes through.

Yubaaba makes a face. “Stop that, Sen.”

“Granny,” she says, uncertainly. Yubaaba frowns even more. “I’m not Sen anymore.”

Yubaaba sighs, suffering. “Chihiro.”

“Where are you?”

“I can no longer run the bathhouse,” says Yubaaba. Chihiro frowns, but she’s used to being ignored by Yubaaba. “You must take over.”

She blinks. There’s silence. She’s acutely aware of Rin standing next to her.

“What?” she asks, out of nothing better to say, and Yubaaba throws her head back and cackles.

“Why do you think I gave you a job, Sen?”

“Chihiro,” she cuts in, but Yubaaba continues on as if she hadn’t heard her.

“Why do you think we turned humans into pigs?”

“Granny, you’re not making sense.”

“Oh, fine, Sen,” says Yubaaba. “You figure it out on your own then.”

“Wait!” she calls before Yubaaba can disappear. Yubaaba looks awfully smug, even as translucent as she is. “Please,” she says, “Tell me.”

“I don’t feel like it anymore,” she says, petulant as a child. Chihiro feels a headache coming on. “I don’t think you deserve it.”

“Please,” she repeats, and Yubaaba cackles.

“The bathhouse is home to everyone in the Spirit World. It needs a witch to protect it.”

“That’s you,” she points out.

“It was me,” says Yubaaba. “Now, it’s you.”

She blinks. “I don’t have magic.”

Yubaaba just smirks at her. “Any more questions, _Sen_?”

She bristles at Yubaaba’s tone, but knows better than to argue. Yubaaba would just disappear if she does. “Where’s Haku?”

There’s a groan from behind her.

“Find him on your own,” says Yubaaba. She disappears after she finishes talking.

Chihiro turns to Rin. “Where is he?” she asks.

Rin can’t meet her eyes.

“Rin,” she all but begs, and Rin looks guilty when she turns to look at Chihiro.

“I don’t know,” she says, and Chihiro’s heart falls. “He disappeared when Yubaaba did. I’m sorry, Chihiro.”

Chihiro bites her lip hard; suddenly being in the Spirit World seems a lot more daunting than it did before. When she had been stuck here in the past, it had been okay because Haku had been there every step of the way. Now, Haku’s gone, and Yubaaba’s left her the bathhouse.

Her knees feel weak. She slides down, until she’s sitting on her bottom where she had been standing. “How do I get home?” she asks.

“I don’t know,” answers Rin. Her voice is quiet, and she seems gentle as she approaches Chihiro. “Yubaaba didn’t give me any instructions.”

“What will happen to the bathhouse if I leave?”

“It’ll shut down,” answers Rin, honestly. “Without a witch, the bathhouse can’t run.”

“But I don’t know magic!” blurts out Chihiro. “I never…I’m a human.”

“I know,” says Rin. “You stink like one, too.”

Chihiro makes a face, and Rin lets out a soft laugh.

“But Yubaaba thinks you have magic. And I think you do, too. No other human could have done what you did. And you were only eleven when you were last here. Now you’re older.”

“I’m only eighteen,” she points out. “I’m hardly _old_.”

Rin smiles at her. “Yes, but you learn fast. First day on the job and you cleansed a river spirit. What will you do now?”

Rin takes her hands into hers. Chihiro stares at Rin’s hands, and thinks back to the time when she had last been here. Rin had risked everything for her. Kamaji had given her tickets that he had been saving for forty years. And Haku had protected her every step of the way.

Maybe now, it’s her turn to do the same. Haku may be missing, but Chihiro will find him.

She always has.

She stands, pulling Rin up with her. “I’m going to learn magic,” she promises, “and I’m going to save this bathhouse.”

* * *

It’s easier said than done. Yubaaba has a multitude of books for her to read, all neatly set aside for Chihiro on Yubaaba’s desk. She doesn’t crack open a book yet, instead Rin ushers her off to another room, and there’s Yubaaba’s wardrobe. She doesn’t want to wear Yubaaba’s clothes, but when Rin opens it, the dresses are Yubaaba’s, but the fit is tailored for _her_. It’s mind-boggling, and it has to be the effect of magic, so she grits her teeth and tops it on.

It feels wrong, but she takes her hairband out of her hair and loops the rest of her hair into a bun on top of her head.

Rin covers her mouth to stop from laughing, and Chihiro banishes her from the room so she can get some studying done.

It doesn’t help.

She reads and reads, and tries the exercises the books recommend, but there’s a reason that she’s never cast magic before. She’s _human_ even if she had been stuck in the spirit world before, and it doesn’t make sense that Yubaaba thinks she can cast magic.

She gives up after an hour. She closes the books and starts to explore, memories coming back to her as she goes room by room. There’s signs of Yubaaba all over, and she finds the room that had used to house the baby. It’s empty, and for some reason her heart aches. She has no clue where Yubaaba’s gone.

She searches for any clue on how Yubaaba had cast magic, her mind on the golden seal that Zeniiba had.

As soon as she can use magic, she’s going to go find Zeniiba. Zeniiba will have some idea on where her twin had gone, and Zeniiba will be able to help her fine-tune her magic. And besides that, she _misses_ Zeniiba almost as fiercely as she does Haku. Now that she’s here in the Spirit World, she’s desperate to see her again.

Rin finds her after an hour. She brings Chihiro down to the bathhouse, and suddenly, it’s just as lively as she remembers. Aogaeru exclaims happily over her, and even the harsh bath attendant smiles widely at her reappearance. They treat her to a feast, and she knows it’s because they believe her to be Yubaaba’s replacement and that her clothes certainly do nothing to disabuse them of that notion, but she still feels guilty as they treat her like a guest.

She’s still just Chihiro inside, even if she’s wearing Yubaaba’s clothes, and she feels like a fraud.

It takes her ages to go to sleep that night. She doesn’t sleep in Yubaaba’s bed, she finds an unused futon and drags it to one end of Yubaaba’s office. She misses the girls’ soft snoring, and she desperately wishes that she can go back to that time, when she didn’t have everyone’s expectations on her shoulders.

She finally falls asleep after hours of fitful tossing.

* * *

Haku’s in front of her. He’s young, and when she looks down on her hands, too, she’s eleven again.

“Haku!” she shouts, and he turns to smile at her, and then he’s holding her close. It’s the time after she had seen her parents as pigs for the first time.

“Yubaaba controls us by stealing our real names,” he explains when they break apart. “I don’t know mine, but I’ll always remember yours.”

She wants to tell him she knows his real name, and that she’ll always remember his, but she’s dreaming.

So she just eats the riceball he gives her and tries her hardest not to cry too hard.

* * *

When she wakes, she knows what she’s been doing it wrong. Yubaaba had been trying to give her a clue.

She hadn’t been calling her Sen just to annoy her. Names have power. If everyone knows her real name, then she would be in trouble. She has to lock away her name once more.

She’s lived as Sen before, though. It’s not hard to become Sen once more.

She finds the page in one of the books Yubaaba had left. She reads it once, then twice, and knows she can do it.

After all, Yubaaba had done it once for her.

When she’s Sen, she feels different. There’s a sense of loss at losing her real name, and she would feel worried, but she knows if she ever forgets, Haku will be there to remind her.

She will find him.

She won’t accept anything else.

She takes a deep breath, closes her eyes, and reaches inside of herself.

* * *

The bathhouse isn’t hard to run. Yubaaba hadn’t done much, as far as Sen remembers. She remembers Yubaaba handing her rope when the river spirit had come, but she also remembers No Face being a danger to them all. Yubaaba hadn’t interfered then.

“It’s mostly for show,” says Aogaeru when she asks. “No bad spirits will come if there’s a witch protecting us.”

She keeps Yubaaba’s clothes. They’re comfortable, and it reminds her that there will be an end to this. She won’t be in the Spirit World forever.

Her magic comes easily. It’s unrefined, and sometimes the things she summons fall onto her rather than into her hand, but it _works_. Her reputation precedes her because the people of the bathhouse do their part to make the rumors circulate.

The bathhouse has a new witch and Chihiro vows to protect it.

It’s night when Haku finally returns.

She’s brushing her hair with a summoned hairbrush when something crashes into Yubaaba’s windows. She startles, and her heart starts beating unbearably fast. Until she remembers that she’s a witch now and she doesn’t have to be so scared.

When she creeps closer to the thing that made the commotion, she stops still in her tracks. She recognizes that shape.

“Haku?”

Before she can even blink, there’s a gust of wind and the wreckage of the windows are blown away. Haku is in front of her, his long whiskers moving with the chilly wind from outside. His eyes are just as large as she remembers.

She doesn’t even hesitate. As soon as she realizes who is in front of her she runs forward, wrapping her thin arms around Haku’s snout. She’s older so her arms are finally long enough to wrap all the way around.

“You’re back,” she says, and doesn’t let go until Haku transforms back.

She’s crying. She knows she is. So she buries her face into Haku’s firm chest and doesn’t look up for a long while. Haku coming back means everything is going to be okay because he’s always protected her. He’s going to do the same for her now, she knows it.

“Chihiro,” says Haku, and she finally looks up.

He looks the same as he did all those years ago. Just older. His hair is still long and soft, but his jaw is more defined now and his eyes sharper. He’s grown with her.

“Sen,” she whispers. “I had to seal Chihiro away.”

Haku’s eyes flash. “Did Yubaaba tell you to do so?”

“You did,” she says. Haku blinks and she continues. “I couldn’t cast magic as Chihiro.”

“You can,” says Haku. “I’ll teach you.”

He turns and raises his hands. The wreckage around his feet start to float and they slowly start to form into a fully intact window once more.

When it’s fixed, Haku turns to look at her. “You shouldn’t be here.”

Her heart stings at Haku’s tone. “But I am,” she argues. “And I like it here.”

Haku’s face looks pinched. He takes her hand. “But you should be back home. With your parents.”

“I’m eighteen now,” she explains. “And I spent the last seven years dreaming of the bathhouse. I don’t want to leave.”

Haku’s quiet. The newly fixed window blocks most of the light from the bathhouse from coming in, but some moonlight still gets through, illuminating Haku. He looks otherworldy as he always has, in his kimono and his perfect hair, and Chihiro’s heart aches.

It’s not just the bathhouse she’s been dreaming about.

It’s been Haku. It’s always been Haku.

“Okay,” says Haku, and he grips her hand tight.

\---

Haku wakes her early in the morning.

“Most mages have an element,” says Haku. “We have to figure out which one is yours.”

She mulls over what he’s said, reading over the paper he’s given her. They have a list of spells she can try, in order to see which element she has an affinity with.

“Mine’s water. So is Yubaaba’s and Zeniiba’s.”

“How do you know?” she asks.

“All this water around us is made from Yubaaba’s magic. Zeniiba’s her twin. Their magic is closely entwined.”

“And you’re a river spirit,” she said, and Haku nodded.

She isn’t water. Not like Haku.

Instead, she’s better at spells that deal with the earth.

“Walls,” said Haku. “That’s how you’re going to protect the bathhouse when the water is drained.”

“And that’ll happen soon?” She pauses, and frowns. She still remembers how it felt to have looked out on the water when she was young. The train tracks across the river is something she’ll never forget. Walls don’t feel like the answer.

“No,” says Haku. “I don’t know when they’ll disappear. But probably not for another few years.”

They break for lunch. Rin brings them rice and tempura and then departs back to work. They don’t go back into the bathhouse to eat. They find a corner in the courtyard and eat comfortably in the silence.

When they’ve finished, Haku’s looking at her.

“What?” she asks, self-conscious. She raises a hand to check if she has a stray rice on her chin, but she can’t find any.

Haku smiles, and helps her up.

“Back to work, Sen.”

* * *

Haku stays for a week. Chihiro continues to learn steadily fast from him, and it’ll only be a short while before she can unseal her name and leave Sen behind once again.

She doesn’t regret becoming Sen however. Without Haku, she never would have been able to cast magic without doing so anyway.

Magic’s easy when being taught by an expert. Haku’s been casting magic since he’s been born, and now that he’s seven years older than when she had last seen him, he’s even more talented.

“Yubaaba taught me,” explains Haku when she asks. “After you left, she wanted to teach me. I always thought it was because she had a change of heart after meeting you, but now I wonder if it’s something more.”

He falls silent even when she presses.

He disappears the next day. Chihiro’s worried, but Rin comes up to the top of the bathhouse and keeps her company.

Chihiro’s been neglecting her duties to learn magic from Haku. Since Haku’s missing, she takes it upon herself to go down into the bathhouse to show her face. There are new spirits who had entered and she spends the better part of her morning welcoming them to the bathhouse.

They’re all eager to meet the new witch, and she makes flowers bloom to the happy exclaims from most of the guests.

Days pass. She continues to practice; Haku had left her a steady regime to undertake and she doesn’t want to disappoint him. She gets better at shaping the earth, and she aches to see him again.

She’s in her bedroom again when Haku breaks the window once more.

This time, he’s bloody.

It’s not his, thankfully. She wipes him down and waits patiently for him to transform back.

His clothes are ripped.

“I know where they are,” he says when he finally can. He wipes at his cheek and Chihiro leans forward with a washcloth to get the rest of the blood off. He lets her.

“Who?”

“Yubaaba and Zeniiba.”

Her heart jumps at the name. She hadn’t known that Zeniiba was missing. “Are they alright?”

“I don’t know,” says Haku, quietly. “They wouldn’t talk to me. I think something’s wrong.”

“Can you take me to them?” she asks.

He looks up and frowns at her. Then nods.

“Yes,” he says, and takes her hand.

* * *

Chihiro doesn’t let Haku just transform back into a dragon. She calls Rin and gets them some food. She debates changing out of Yubaaba’s old clothes, but decides against it at the last second, knowing Yubaaba will probably find the whole thing hilarious.

“Should I bring anything?”

Haku shakes his head. “We won’t be there for long.”

They set off after eating. Rin brings them a dish made only out of the finest ingredients. Chihiro thanks her, but doesn’t let Rin know what they’re doing. She doesn’t want Rin to worry.

“Wait,” says Haku. “Before we go, I think you should unseal your real name. You’re strong enough now.”

Haku has more experience than her, but Chihiro still hesitates. Being Sen isn’t so horrible, and she likes the added security of hiding behind a façade. But Yubaaba and Zeniiba both know her real name, so the sealing would be a waste.

She finds the book Yubaaba had left her and does the answering spell. When it finishes, she is Chihiro again.

* * *

The trip isn’t hard. It’s windy and cold, but Haku’s body is warm underneath her. And it feels as if she’s come home. Riding on Haku has always been a treat, and now is no different.

They follow the train tracks. There’s no train running today, so the silence is only broken by her soft breaths and the sound of Haku flying.

She remembers where they are. They pass the stop that leads to Zeniiba’s cottage. It’s only seconds later that Haku’s landing.

No-face is waiting.

She doesn’t hesitate. She jumps off Haku’s back and straight into No-face. She’s not scared, and he hugs her back, at least as much as he can with how ephermal his body feels.

“No-face!” she says, and tries to hug just a bit tighter. “Do you know where Granny is?”

No-face makes that noise of his and turns, his arms extending to point them in a direction. No-face follows after them as Haku takes her hand and leads her down the path.

The place is eerily quiet. It’s a swamp, and Chihiro grimaces when she sees bubbles arising from the swamp’s surface. There are little circular lamps made out of magic floating above the ground and the light allows them to see where they’re stepping.

When they have walked for what seems like forever, Chihiro hears something. It sounds like Granny.

Her heart speeds up. She grips tighter on Haku’s hand and he does the same to let her know he’s heard the same sound.

“They’re here,” he says, and just as he does, they finally break past the circle of trees.

They’re in a clearing. There’s a dying tree in the middle and the same lights from outside are hanging here now. There seems to be an exorbitant amount of them.

The swamp has even made its way here, making the ground underneath them mushy and uneven. She flinches when they step down and a squelching sound accompanies it. It’s disgusting. The smell is even worse.

Haku doesn’t pause though, and tugs her forward. She yelps when she steps through even more of the swamp, but she doesn’t have time to complain because her breath leaves her.

Yubaaba and Zeniiba really are here. They’re crouched at the roots of the dying tree. She can’t tell them apart from this far away.

“Granny!” she calls. Only one of them turns, and she’s sure this one is Zeniiba. She’s pale and shaking and Chihiro’s worried.

Yubaaba straightens up. She looks furious. “Why are you back here?” she snaps.

Haku flinches at Yubaaba’s acerbic tone. But he doesn’t resist as Chihiro pulls him forward once more, wanting to get closer.

There’s something wrong with Zeniiba. She lets go of Haku’s hand and kneels, even though her dress gets splattered with mud as she does so. She takes Zeniiba’s hands into hers. “Granny, what’s wrong?” she asks.

There’s no answer.

Behind her, Yubaaba’s continuing her tirade. “Why aren’t you taking care of Sen? I brought her back for you!”

“You shouldn’t have!” snaps back Haku, and he sounds just as angry as Yubaaba. “She has a life back there, we never even should have let her in here! I don’t want to ruin her life.”

“Ruin!?” the offense is clear to hear in Yubaaba’s voice. “This bathhouse is the best thing that’s ever happened to her.”

“She’s a _human_ ,” explains Haku, his tone sharp. “She should be out there, where no one can hurt her.”

“And you have such a good experience with the human world?” There’s a poignant silence and then Yubaaba sniffs. “She’s safer here with us.”

“She’s not safe here,” Haku repeats, and Yubaaba frowns.

“Why don’t you ask her what _she_ wants?”

There’s an even longer silence. Chihiro glances back away from Zeniiba and Haku’s staring at her with wide eyes. She wants to tell him that her whole life has only been about Haku, and that it will always be about him, but Zeniiba’s hand is still awfully cold in hers.

And she loves Haku, she’s sure of it, but right now, Zeniiba comes first.

“What’s wrong with her?” she asks, and Yubaaba deflates.

“I don’t know,” she says. “She’s been here for months now. Never moving. Always staring at the tree. I tried _so_ many spells, Sen. She’s never moved.”

Chihiro studies Zeniiba’s face and sees the truth in Yubaaba’s words in it. There’s something wrong with her eyes; they are unseeing and there’s no spark of anything in it. Something’s holding her back from them.

No-face is making noise. He pushes past Yubaaba and Haku and tugs at her hair.

She stares at him in confusion. Yubaaba gasps.

“What is that?” she asks.

“Zeniiba made it.” She still looks back on that day fondly. She’ll never forget it. “And my friends.”

“Seven years ago?” asks Yubaaba.

She nods.

Yubaaba turns to Haku. “And you let her leave with it?”

“I thought it’ll protect her,” says Haku. “Since I wouldn’t be able to follow her out there.”

“You _fool_ ,” says Yubaaba, and Haku blinks, looking taken aback. “Give it to me, Sen.”

She doesn’t want to. Zeniiba’s hands tighten on hers and gives her strength to shake her head at Yubaaba.

Yubaaba sighs, loudly. “Why must you always be so difficult?”

Haku moves to stand between the two of them. “Why do you need the hairband?”

“Because my idiot sister thought it would be a good idea to give Sen magic!”

“I thought you knew how I got magic,” says Chihiro. “You said so when I first came here!”

Yubaaba sneers at her. “It was a lie. Don’t be stupid, girl.”

She bristles at Yubaaba’s tone and is about to snap back when Zeniiba’s hand moves to grip hers back.

Yubaaba’s silent as Zeniiba turns to face Chihiro.

Chihiro suddenly knows what she has to do. She must give it back. She reaches up and removes the hairband with one hand, letting her hair fall around her face. Now that Yubaaba’s told her, she can feel the magic radiating off it. Zeniiba had woven powerful spells within the hairband, and she had never known. But she knows now. And it’s time to give it back.

She presses the hairband into Zeniiba’s hand and closes both of Zeniiba’s hands around it with hers. “Granny,” she says, “Come back to us.” She closes her eyes and remembers the night when Granny had helped them all come together. Zeniiba should have hated her for loving the one who had stolen her seal, but she never did. Even though they hadn’t known each other for very long, Zeniiba had done everything to help her back then.

And now Chihiro will do the same.

“Please,” she whispers and feels tears start to form at the corner of her eyes.

There’s a burst of magic. She’s nearly knocked straight backward, but Haku’s suddenly there, his hands on her shoulders to hold her steady. Zeniiba’s cackling when Chihiro opens her eyes and then she’s being enveloped in Zeniiba’s hug.

“You did it, Chihiro!”

She smiles, even though she has no clue what she’s actually done. “Granny, you’re okay,” she says, instead, and Zeniiba laughs again.

“Of course I am,” she says, “I knew you’ll come back.”

“Is that why you give me magic?” she asks.

“I hope you aren’t mad,” says Zeniiba. “It was the only way to get you back here.”

Yubaaba sniffs, “Well, _I_ am still mad at you for doing so. It’s awfully risky.”

“You had to find a replacement,” says Zeniiba, “And Chihiro is the perfect choice.”

Yubaaba sighs, but doesn’t seem inclined to argue. She must have been more worried about Zeniiba than Chihiro had guessed.

“Does that mean I have no more magic?”

“You spent seven years with that hairband,” says Zeniiba. “You just had to give me some of it back. You still have more than enough for yourself.”

She pauses, and summons a cup of tea. Zeniiba lets out another delighted noise and makes grabby hands for it. Chihiro laughs and hands it over.

Zeniiba is safe.

Yubaaba takes Zeniiba back to her little cottage and then shoos them away. She tells them they’re going to do old woman things and that they aren’t welcome. Chihiro half wants to protest because she’s old enough to drink sake now, but she doesn’t.

She can visit the two of them later anyway and figure out what’s going to happen to the bathhouse now that they’ve found Yubaaba. Yubaaba insists that Haku and Chihiro keep it, since she’s already given it away. Besides, Yubaaba has more important things to worry about now such as her son and Zeniiba.

Haku takes her back to the bathhouse.

The room is dark when they get back. Chihiro practices some more of her magic by lighting the lights. It’s been diminished by giving Zeniiba some of it, but it’s still there. She just has to work at it to get it back.

“Haku?” she wonders when she turns back around.

He’s transformed back into a human, but he’s quiet.

“Is everything alright?”

He looks nervous. But then he takes a deep breath and steps forward. He takes her hands into his. “Chihiro.”

Her heart starts beating faster. “Yes?”

“Please stay here,” he says. “I’ve missed you so much.”

She’s never seen Haku so blunt before. The momentary surprise stuns her into silence.

“The spirit world needs you,” continues Haku, and he’s stumbling over his words.

“Only the spirit world?” she can’t help teasing. He stops mid-word and stares at her with his mouth slightly agape.

He recovers in less than a second, and narrows his eyes at her.

“No,” he says. There’s a pause and then Haku continues, “ _I_ need you.”

She flushes at Haku’s words. It takes her longer to recover, but she does. She’s shaking as she smiles at Haku and leans forward. “You don’t even have to ask,” she says, and kisses him.

* * *

It takes her a month to relearn magic. Haku works her hard every day and then takes her on dates at night. He takes her to the different stops along the train line and shows her the different attractions every stop offers. They even stop at another witch’s bathhouse and Chihiro experiences the bathhouse life as a guest for the first time.

They go to Zeniiba’s cottage a week in, and Yubaaba’s still there. She takes a portion of their earnings, but she doesn’t seem eager to come back to run the bathhouse. She trusts them, oddly enough.

Rumors get out of their protection of the bathhouse. Even more spirits stop by as a result, and they’re busier than ever. They still find time to explore the spirit world together and Chihiro’s magic grows every day. She finds a new outfit to wear besides Yubaaba’s old clothes and it’s a kimono, not unlike the one she had worn when she was eleven. It’s just a different color; it matches with Haku’s instead of the customary orange.

She finally gets to go back to her world three months later when everything settles down. She’s only been missing a week because of the way time differs between the two worlds. She’s nervous to see her parents, so she takes Haku to different attractions around her hometown. Haku enjoys waffles quite a lot, and she resolves to buy a waffle maker the next time they come to her world.

Her mother cries when Chihiro tells her parents she’s leaving. She doesn’t tell them about the spirit world, but she introduces Haku and tells them she’s moving out. She’s old enough now, even though her parents protest, and promises to visit every month. It mollifies them and they hug her tearfully when she leaves.

She keeps her promise. She never misses a visit with them, and Haku accompanies her to most of them. It’s five years since she’s left for the Spirit World, and she doesn’t notice when Haku disappears with her father. They do that sometimes, and she’s still proud that Haku is able to keep up with the topics her father chooses. It helps that Haku’s spent time on Earth as a river spirit before.

Haku proposes to her a week later. It’s with a ring from her grandmother; it had been the reason her father had pulled Haku away. She cries because the spirit world doesn’t have weddings and Haku’s only proposing because he loves her.

They get married once on Earth with her parents and her old high school friends. That one is traditional and everything she had dreamed of when she was a child.

The one in the spirit world is different. It’s whimsical and full of magic, and Chihiro loses track of how many times she gasps. Everyone she’s ever met is there, and even some of their regular guests come by to say their congratulations. It’s a huge, complicated thing unlike their smaller one on Earth, and although it’s tiring, Chihiro still smiles when she falls asleep because she’s gotten married twice to the love of her life.

Yubaaba’s magic melts away a year later. She’s learned so much magic now that she’s not worried when Haku leads her outside. They cross the bridge to the bathhouse and stare at the missing water. She goes first. She raises her hands and reaches into herself and walls come into place slowly all around them. Haku uses his own magic to refill the water and the bathhouse is doubly protected. It’s only fitting considering that they both protect the bathhouse now.

They find themselves in the gardens afterward. Chihiro can’t help smiling as she remembers the taste of those rice balls in her mouth, and Haku wonders why she’s smiling.

“You,” she says, truthfully. She reaches out and takes Haku’s hands into hers.

“Me?” asks Haku.

She nods, and her heart is full when she thinks about the time they’ve spent together. They’ve come so far from when she was just trying to get back home. Now, the spirit world _is_ her home.

“You,” she repeats. “It’s only ever been you.”

Haku smiles, and bows his head. “Good,” he says, “because I _did_ save your life back then, you know. You got to repay me somehow.”

She laughs because Haku’s brought up that one incident so many times now, and leans in to kiss her husband.

 

 


End file.
